text:
Discussing the state of the beauty industry amidst current global trends, as well as opportunities and options for future growth within certain markets and industry categories, Euromonitor International analysts recently participated in a press briefing during the 2013 in-cosmetics event. On a panel that was moderated by Claudie Willemin, international director of skin care, sun care and hygiene, applied research, research and innovation with L'Oréal, IFSCC Praesidium member and president of Société Française de Cosmétologie; and Marc Pissavini, basic and applied research director with Coty; Irina Barbalova, Euromonitor's global head of beauty and personal care research, and Nicole Tyrimou, Euromonitor beauty and personal care analyst, presented "New Beauty Power: The Cast for Tailored vs. Universal Solutions."
Citing the strength of the prestige/premium market and the skin care and anti-aging categories, Barbalova noted that 2012 kept the growth pattern for the beauty industry, and even after a spectacular year in 2011, North America still managed to achieve close to 6% increase in premium value in 2012, according to Euromonitor data. "Total industry growth bettered that of the previous year and reached pre-recession levels. Despite the strong performance of the premium cosmetics category, overall growth was boosted by mass cosmetics globally, with positive prospects shown by staple categories such as oral care, deodorants, and hair care," she explained.
Barbalova also noted that skin care continues to be the beauty industry's largest category, followed by hair care, color cosmetics, fragrances, oral care, bath and shower, men's grooming, deodorants, sets and kits, baby and child products, sun care and depilatories, respectively. And all those categories, with the exception of sun care, saw growth in 2011–2012 versus 2010–2011. In regard to sun care, one of the reasons it dropped was because it touches and becomes integrated into so many other categories, including skin care and color cosmetics. And, as Pissavini commented, "With sun care, you can't mess with the efficacy, it always has to be the top and first priority." However, secondary claims for sun care also include anti-aging, color and additional raw material elements.
Opportunities within the beauty market also are varying regionally. In the men's market, for example, Barbalova noted that the toiletries category is big in Asia while shaving products are a larger focus in Latin America. For the Middle East, Africa and Latin America hair care is a significantly growing category, while North America is seeing openings for innovation in the color cosmetic, hair and skin care categories.
However, as skin care remains the beauty industry's largest category, and innovation for it is driving much of the push forward in product development. Anti-aging continues to be the biggest skin care subcategory, but the marketplace for facial care makeup (which includes tinted moisturizers and BB/CC creams) offers the largest opportunity for value growth. And, as Pissavini noted, the development of such products is often a collaboration of many beauty R&D teams.
Moving ahead, the beauty industry is seemingly trying to follow two divergent paths, according to Euromonitor, both pushed by consumer demands and trends, and Euromonitor's latest research also shows leading beauty companies are taking a more holistic view on products. This has also been driven by consumer demand becoming more complex in their expectations of product performance and benefits.
"Anti-aging is increasingly being associated with a wider portfolio of benefits," explained Tyrimou. "Moisturization and sun protection are now expected in every product, thus added value has gone far beyond that. There is a greater alignment with enhancing the skin, rather than just treating wrinkles. Many of the new claims are about evening skin tone, brightening, illuminating and smoothing properties."
Additionally, Barbalova noted that these trends aren't just affecting product development for skin care. "Hair care is experiencing a transformation and is increasingly inspired by skin care in terms of ingredients, as well as adopting a similar multi-step routine approach to hair treatment," she explained.
Multifunctional products are becoming mainstream, most epitomized by the BB and CC creams phenomenon. At the same time, the need for more personalized solutions and products targeting specific concerns are presenting further scope for innovation in this area. While multiple benefits are important even in targeted products, the overuse of multifunctionality and the BB/CC labeling of products could result in the blurring of the actual benefits and thus the ultimate brand credentials.
Meanwhile, the targeted trend will likely lead to more bespoke skin care products and services, including diagnostic offerings like the Sephora-Pantone color match collaboration, the Ioma bespoke skin care offerings in Harrods, and The Organic Pharmacy's DNA test from GeneOnyx, which uses that information to develop equivalent products. Additionally, specific product types (including tools), targeted function area (neck, chin, décolleté), focused concerns with targeted solutions (for acne, wrinkles, dryness, and more), innovative application methods (such as droppers and syringes) and age segments are also bringing more to the targeted products' plate.
"There seems to be room for both of these divergent trends. While both targeted and multifunctional products are equally sought after by consumers, the need for preserving and promoting the specialized features of a product should remain key. Consumers need to be able to relate to a product that provides them a solution for their individual needs," concluded Barbalova.


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Review: Windows 10 Insider Preview -- a nearly finished OS
So now is the ideal time to catch up on the state of the operating system since we looked at the last major release in late January. At this point, to a great extent what you see is what you'll get.
In this review, I'll tell you in about the major changes to Windows 10 since the big January release. As you'll see, they're mostly to the good, although there are still some rough edges left in the operating system.
The new Start menu
Microsoft's decision to kill the Start menu in Windows 8 was one of the more controversial decisions the company ever made -- so in Windows 10, the company decided to backtrack and build it back in. Since the late January release, Microsoft has changed the menu several times.
In Build 10074, the menu was made easily resizable. You clicked a small double-headed arrow on the upper-right of the menu to grow it to take up the entire screen or shrink it back to its original size. You could also make it larger or smaller by dragging the top or right side.
However, in the newest build, 10122, that behavior has changed. There's no longer a double-headed arrow to switch between the full-screen Start menu and smaller-sized Start menu. Instead, users with traditional PCs and laptops get the smaller-size Start menu by default, while those with tablets get the full-screen Start menu. (I haven't had a chance to see the phone version yet.) To change the size between a smaller and larger Start menu, you have to go to Settings / Personalization / Start and make the adjustment in the "Start behaviors" section.
That's a smart move, because it cleans up the Start menu by getting rid of the double-headed arrow, and it's not likely people will want to switch between full-size and smaller-size Start screens very often. However, Microsoft made another change to Start menu behavior that made it worse, not better. In build 10122, you can resize the height of the Start menu, but not the width. Previously, you could change both. I found this frustrating, because it didn't let me have tiles in as many horizontal columns as I'd like. I'm hoping that this behavior will be changed in a later build.
If you've ever been nostalgic for the Windows 7 transparent Aero look, you'll be happy with another change Microsoft has made to the Start menu -- you can now make it transparent. Go into Settings and select Personalization / Colors, and turn it on using the "Make Start, taskbar, and action center transparent" slider. Is this useful Not really. But I'm a fan of eye candy and it looks good to me.
There's only one more minor change to the Start menu in the latest build -- the Power button is now at the bottom left of the screen rather than the upper right. I've seen other reviewers complain about this. To me, that's a sign they have too much time on their hands. Upper right, bottom left; it's all the same.
New apps
One of the many disappointing things about Windows 8 was its apps, which tended to be underpowered and far less useful than those in more traditional Windows desktop applications. Rather than showcasing the power of Windows 8, they undermined it.
Things are getting better. For example, the new Windows 10 Mail and Calendar apps are both far superior to those in Windows 8. Unlike the Windows 8 versions, you can easily toggle between them by clicking the calendar icon in the Mail app or the mail icon in the Calendar app. Still, the implementation needs improvement: In Mail, the icon for switching to Calendar is on a vertical bar of icons on the left-hand side of the screen, while in Calendar the mail icon is on a horizontal bar on the lower left. More visual consistency between the two apps would make switching between them simpler. Still, they're clear improvements over the Windows 8 versions.
The Windows 8 Calendar always felt especially cluttered and klutzy to me; doing something as simple as switching to a different view (Day, Work week or Month) required calling up a menu and then making a selection. In the new app, those choices are always visible -- just tap the view you want. In addition, a small view of the entire month is always visible, even when you're looking at a single day, making it easy to navigate to see your calendar for any day of the month. I never would have considered using the Windows 8 Calendar. I can see using the Windows 10 version, though.
Another advantage to the new Calendar app is that it now supports Google Calendar, something that the Windows 8 version didn't allow. You won't even have to jump through hoops to do it. Just click Settings / Accounts / Add account / Google and follow the prompts. You can also add an Exchange calendar or an iCloud calendar in this way.
The Mail app, like Calendar, now has a simpler, cleaner look. Icons across its top are always available for common tasks such as replying, forwarding, deleting and flagging mail. Icons down the left let you do things such as browsing your mail folders, switching to different mail accounts, changing your settings, creating new mail and, as previously mentioned, switching to the Calendar.
Even more important: It supports POP-based email, something the Windows 8 app was incapable of doing. Also much improved are the text- and mail-formatting features, which are now Word-like and designed to allow you to do things such as insert tables into mail. That and more are available from a formatting toolbar that lets you change fonts and font attributes, change the color of text and insert tables and pictures.
Not everything worked for me. For instance, you are supposed to be able to do spell checking from the toolbar as well, but the spell check didn't actually check my spelling, and the icons for inserting a table, picture or a link were grayed-out so I couldn't use them. Presumably that will be fixed in a later build.
The app also includes new touch-based actions, including swiping left to delete a message.
The Edge browser
Internet Explorer's replacement, the new browser once called Spartan and now called Edge, has been filled out in the newest build. It shows a lot of promise, but is clearly still very much a work in progress.
The first thing I noticed was that it's clean -- free from visual clutter such as Internet Explorer's oversized forward and back buttons. The Address Bar sits underneath tabs rather than beside them as with Internet Explorer, which also makes for a cleaner look. The inspiration for Edge is clearly Chrome -- it's an attempt to strip away as many menus and controls as possible in order to make the content on Web pages the primary focus.
It works. I haven't regularly used Internet Explorer for years, in part because it's out of date. But based on Edge's overall visual appeal, it could eventually become my regular browser.
That being said, Edge still has a long way to go. The first issue is performance; I found it slow to load Web pages and buggy as well, sometimes closing tabs on its own. That should be able to be cleaned up fairly easily.
An even bigger problem was one of the features that Microsoft has been touting -- the ability to annotate Web pages, and save and share them with others. On some pages I visited, when I clicked the small note icon on the upper-right that turned the feature on, the site crashed. On other pages, the feature's toolbar would appear on top of the screen with icons for doing things such as drawing on the page, typing on the page and so on, but they didn't work. And on yet other pages, when I clicked the note icon, I got the statement, "Web Notes aren't available."
Only a few pages let me annotate them. And even then, when I clicked the Share button so I could share the annotated page with others, I received the message, "Project Spartan can't share right now. Try again later." I tried again later. Same message.
Another feature, Reading View, worked as promised. In Reading View everything extraneous is stripped from a page, including ads, navigation and anything else that distracts from the article itself. The article is presented in a clean, scrollable window, graphics included. It's easy to get in and out of Reading View -- click its icon at the top of the screen to toggle it on or off. I found it particularly useful for reading long text sections.
Missing at the moment is the ability to tear off a tab to its own window, or drag a window into another. That's basic browser functionality, so I expect that to be fixed before launch.
The bottom line The design is right, the feature set promising. But Edge still can't be considered a fully functional browser.
Small changes
There have been a number of other tweaks. In the latest build, Microsoft continues to try and get all system settings in a single location, rather than put them in multiple places as was the case in Windows 8, where they were scattered between Control Panel and Settings. In the Personalization section you can now find settings for Background, Colors and Themes, which were previously found in Control Panel -- this makes life much easier for people (like me) who constantly tweak Windows' look and feel.
The eagle-eyed may notice a very small change that was ushered in by build 10074. The small watermark on the lower right of the Windows desktop no longer labels the build as a Technical Preview. Instead, it's called an Insider Preview. That may seem a small detail, but in Microsoft's world it means something -- the public previews have moved to a more finished phase, one that more closely resembles the final release of the operating system.
The Cortana digital assistant has also received a minor makeover with the addition of a vertical set of icons on its left, so that you can more easily use a variety of its features including a notebook, calendar, places and settings features.
The bottom line
Overall, Windows 10 looks to generally be in good shape before its expected release date in two months. The Start menu goes a long way toward making Windows a unified operating system rather than two separate ones kludged together -- one for touch-based devices and another for traditional computers.
The improved Mail and Calendar apps show that Microsoft is getting serious about making Windows apps fully powered ones rather than pale imitations of desktop apps. And the Edge browser shows a lot of promise as well, although it's still so buggy that it's hard to truly review it.
Apart from Edge, though, Windows 10 is just about fully baked. And if Edge and minor issues such as fine-tuning the Start menu and fixing the Mail app can be resolved before the final release, it looks to be a winner.
If you haven't downloaded Windows 10 yet, and want to give it a try, you can find it by following this link.

subset: commoncrawl


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I was born in 1954 in a small Russian town, so I was 15 when Apollo 11 made its famous landing. Soviet newspapers and radio didn't say much about Apollo flights, but Voice of America, BBC and some other foreign radio stations filled this information gap. Some years later I saw a real Apollo CM at an exhibition 'Tourism and Recreation in USA' in Moscow. I always wondered what the organizers of that exhibition thought about the Apollo program - was it tourism or recreation? So I knew about Apollo and had even seen one of the spaceships. From that time, I have kept an interest in this achievement in space exploration, made 'for all mankind', as Neil Armstrong said.
Some years ago, some people were saying that Apollo was a great fake - even here in Russia. So I took part in creating a debunking Internet page (in Russian) called "Have Americans been on the Moon?".
Now I live and work in the Moscow region.
April 2009


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Wineries in Temecula Valley
Sort by Name |
Baily Vineyard & Winery
In 1982, the Baily family, having recognized the unique attributes of the Temecula Valley, planted its first vineyard with Riesling grapes. The Bailys carefully consider the dual importance of soil and climate to the terroir of its wines. The family officially began Baily Vineyard & Winery in 1986.
Briar Rose Winery
Set among the hills, Briar Rose Winery is Temecula's first reservation-only winery. Visitors choose from a flight of standard or premium wines on an estate originally designed by Beldon Fields, who helped create Disneyland in the 1950s. The Disney fan also will marvel at the replica Snow White's Cottage.
Callaway Winery
Established in 1969, Callaway Vineyard & Winery was one of the first premium wineries in Temecula Valley. Founder Ely Callaway was a visionary not only in the local wine industry, but also as the founder of the Big Bertha golf club.
Churon Winery
Unique among Temecula's wineries, Churon Winery also features an inn. The chateau of the Inn at Churon Winery features rooms that overlook the 11 acres of vineyards, private terraces and balconies and fireplaces. Guests enjoy a private wine hour in the evening.
Cougar Vineyard & Winery
In 2005, Rick and Jennifer Buffington purchased the property upon which rests Cougar Vineyard & Winery. The winery publicly opened following the 2006 crush and featured Italian varietals, a particular favorite of the Buffingtons. The winery produces approximately 5,000 cases per year from its vineyards.
Danza del Sol Winery
Located in Temecula wine country, Danza del Sol's vineyards are planted with Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Merlot, Tempranillo and Cabernet Franc.
Doffo Winery
Founded in 1997 by Marcelo Doffo, Doffo winery lies in the Northeast corner of Temecula Valley. This micro-boutique winery rests on the site of Temecula's historic schoolhouse, the Hyatt School. The Doffo family prides itself in its Argentine and Italian heritage.
Europa Village Wineries
Europa Village was established in 2006 and began producing wine from the grapes of select local growers. As the vineyards mature, Europa Village is producing a number of wines under several labels. These labels are C'est La Vie, Bolero Cellars and Vienza, reflecting French, Spanish and Italian flavors.
Falkner Winery
Ray and Loretta Falkner established Falkner Winery in 2000. The tasting room and production facilities are located in an impressive building that has sweeping views of Temecula Valley.
Foot Path Winery
Formerly known as Foote Print Winery, Foot Path Winery constitutes one part of a working certified organic farm. The owners, Christine & Deane Foote, note that, although their estate-grown wines are 100% certified organic, their non-estate wines comprise locally grown grapes.
« Previous | Next » Page 1 of 4


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Amy Falls Down (Used Book)
Amy Falls Down (Used Book)
Amy Gallup is an aging novelist and writing instructor living in Escondido, California, with her dog, Alphonse. Since recent unsettling events, she has made some progress. While she still has writer's block, she doesn't suffer from it. She's still a hermit, but she has allowed some of her class members into her life. She is no longer numb, angry, and sardonic: she is merely numb and bemused, which is as close to happy as she plans to get. Amy is calm.
So, when on New Year's morning she shuffles out to her backyard garden to plant a Norfolk pine, she is wholly unprepared for what happens next.
Amy falls down.
A simple accident, as a result of which something happens, and then something else, and then a number of different things, all as unpredictable as an eight-ball break. At first the changes are small, but as these small events carom off one another, Amy's life changes in ways that range from ridiculous to frightening to profound.
This most reluctant of adventurers is dragged and propelled by train, plane, and automobile through an outlandish series of antic media events on her way to becoming--to her horror--a kind of celebrity. And along the way, as the numbness begins to wear off, she comes up against something she has avoided all her life: her future, that "sleeping monster, not to be poked."
Jincy Willett's "Amy Falls Down" explores, through the experience of one character, the role that accident plays in all our lives. "You turn a corner and beasts break into arias, gunfire erupts, waking a hundred families, starting a hundred different conversations. You crack your head open and three thousand miles away a stranger with Asperger's jump-starts your career."
We are all like Amy. We are all wholly unprepared for what happens next.
Also, there's a basset hound.
An NPR Best Book of 2013.


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Atlas Corps Virtual Leadership Institute is an online leadership program for emerging social change leaders that includes keynote speakers, interactive workshops, self-led activities, discussion groups, and community-building activities. Learn more at institute.atlascorps.org.
A special initiative within the Institute is the Hilton Humanitarian Prize Laureate Virtual Leadership Institute, a virtual leadership training opportunity for emerging social change leaders exclusively within the Hilton Humanitarian Prize Laureate community. The Leadership Institute is supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation in collaboration with Atlas Corps. Learn more at hilton.atlascorps.org.


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Our new line of Cobalt mountain biking shoes offers something for every style of all-mountain, downhill or trail rider of any age out there. The Cobalt Lace offers a casual look that's jam-packed with performance features, including the X-Comfort Zone technology that allows the foot to swell up to 5 mm during riding, thus eliminating hot spots and discomfort, and a super grippy rubber outsole that's SPD compatible. The outsole's flat pedal style provides plenty of surface area to increase balance for the demands of all mountain riding, while our T-Flex technology provides increased pedaling efficiency for the climbs. Its casual look blends into any après-style event, and its aesthetics will fit in anywhere.
Technical Details:
- Shoe Technology : X-Comfort Zone - Power Zone: Increased arch support and power transfer
- Shoes Weight: 15.3 oz / 435g (size 42)
- Outsole: Rubber outsole with improved grip and T-FLEX technology
- Insole: EVA single density: Enhances comfort
- Closure System: Hook and loop fastener, Laces
Clipless pedals, shoes, and cleats come in many varieties, some specific to one brand or another. If you have a favorite, you may already know what you're looking for, and what is compatible.
Want some help choosing the right pedals and/or shoes? Interested in trying something new? Contact us to ensure your shoes are compatible with your pedals, and all of it's compatible with you.


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- Home
- Departments
- Community Development
- Permits & Applications
- Variances & Conditional Use Permits
Variances & Conditional Use Permits
Requests for Conditional Use Permits, for variances from the Zoning Ordinance or Sign Ordinance, and for appeals form staff's administrative interpretations of said Ordinances are reviewed by the Board of Adjustment. The Board meets on the first Wednesday of each month.
The forms for Conditional Use Permits, variances, and appeals of administrative decisions are available here:
Application for Zoning or Sign Variance (PDF)
Application for Conditional Use Permit (PDF)
Appeal from Administrative Decision (PDF)
- Variance requests, applications for Conditional Use Permits, and appeals from Administrative Decisions must be filed with the Department of Community Development.
- City staff will prepare and publish a notice for the required public hearing in an official newspaper, and notify neighboring property owners by letter. Staff will also evaluate the request to see if it conforms to the legal conditions governing the issuance of variances, conditional use permits, or administrative appeals, and prepare a report to the Board.
- Note that it is not legal to contact board members to discuss any matter. A public hearing is required for every request or appeal.
No one is allowed to contact members of the Board of Adjustment to discuss a variance request, not an appellant nor neighboring property owner, or even the Mayor and City Council members, since the Board is a quasi-judicial body. Questions or filings intended for the Board should be directed to the Department of Community Development. All communications must take place in the open meeting during the public hearing: communications of any sort at any other time are illegal just as it would be illegal to contact a judge or jury member, and may be subject to prosecution. The Board can require sworn testimony and can issue a "finding of fact" that is somewhat similar to a court opinion.
Purpose of the Variance Process
The variance process exists because the Zoning Ordinance must allows some reasonable use of a property, or a "regulatory taking" would occur and necessitate compensation to the property owner. A variance may be appropriate if:
- a property has unique conditions
- the ordinance creates a hardship for an individual property
- the spirit and intent of the ordinance will be satisfied while varying from the regulations in the manner requested
- no reasonable alternatives are available
If those legal tests cannot be met, a variance should not be granted. A variance is not appropriate as a matter of convenience, for a "hardship situation" that has been self-created, or if it would grant special privileges to an individual property.
Right of Appeal
The Board's decision is final as far as the City's process is concerned. The Mayor and City Council cannot over rule or alter the Board's decision. If anyone feels a variance was improperly granted or denied, including the Mayor and the City Council, the Board's decision must be appealed to the District Court. An appeal can be filed by the appellant, a citizen, or even the Mayor and the City Council. The Department of Community Development staff and the City Attorney advise the Board on proper proceedings and finding.
Steve Franklin
Community Development Director
Roger Schemmel
Building Official
Kristi Bales
Community Development Manager/Chief Planner
Community Development (Building Services)
Physical Address
3600 86th Street
Urbandale, IA 50322
Phone: 515-278-3935
(Except Holidays)
Monday - Friday
8 a.m. - 5 p.m.


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Resposiver is a Multi Purpose PSD Based on Bootstrap's 12 column 980px responsive grid Template, which can be used for business, personal, corporate websites, personal portfolio,magazine, blog and much more.
This Photoshop Document Can help you to easily design Responsive WordPress Theme which can be used for Multipurpose Use.
Features and Technical Details of Bootstrap PSD Multipurpose Template
- 21 Fully Layered PSD Files with Layer Styles
- Active and Hover stats are included.
- Build up on Twitter Bootstrap 980px Grid (Guides are included in each PSD)
- Help Document included
21 PSD Files – Pages
- index-1
- index-2
- under construction page
- 404 page
- about page
- blog post details page
- blog post list alternative page
- blog post list page
- careers page
- contact style1 page
- contact style2 page
- full-width page
- gallery page
- our team page
- portfolio – list view page
- portfolio 3 column – grid view page
- portfolio 4 column – grid view page
- portfolio single page
- pricing table page
- services page
- testimonials page


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When building console applications that take parameters, you can use the arguments passed to Main(string[] args)
In the past I've simply indexed/looped that array and done a few regular expressions to extract the values. However, when the commands get more complicated, the parsing can get pretty ugly.
So I'm interested in:
- Libraries that you use
- Patterns that you use
Assume the commands always adhere to common standards such as answered here.


text:
To Be Heroine
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To Be Heroine
To Be Hero 2
- Release:
- 2018
- Status:
- Completed
- Type:
- Genre:
- Comedy, Super Power
Following the first season's gag action theme, the second season titled To Be Heroine will feature an original story and a new set of characters. You is about to leave home when she suddenly enters an incredible world. Appearing in front of her is an eight-year-old naked boy, and before she could even grasp the situation, she's attacked by assassins from a mafia group who were chasing the young boy. What was even more unrealistic for You was that the leader of this mafia was another assassin's attack. Who are those naked kids, why did her shoe turn into a warrior and above all, what kind of world did eight-year-old boy come from? Just like the first one, he's also almost naked! While trying to escape from the attackers, You loses one of her shoes and by a strange kind of magic, her shoe turned into a warrior who was able to save her by blocking the You enter? (Source: MAL News)
You may also like


text:
Brantley Feather Pocket Square by Brackish
Product Details | A completely bespoke feather pocket square made to fit any pocket size. Wear it parallel to your pocket, or with one corner creating a "peak" popping out. Control how much of the feather panel shows by pushing it deeper into the pocket.
- Peacock feathers.
- No dyes are used, giving each pocket square a unique coloring.
- Feathers are all-natural and sustainably sourced.
- Grosgrain fabric.
- Individually numbered.
- Pocket Square insert is 3.5" wide and 6.5" tall.
Packaged with Care | Every pocket square arrives in a hand branded pine box perfect for secure storage and gorgeous presentation.
Made in Charleston | Pocket squares are handcrafted in Charleston, S.C. Every feather is hand selected by our artisans, making no two pocket squares exactly alike.
We Also Recommend


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- they are faster and can carry higher payloads than bipeds,
- they are more agile (for getting around tight spaces) than robots that require more than two wheels, and
- are usually quite simple/fast to build using a LEGO NXT MINDSTORMS kit.
But they are not without disadvantages: They need to use at least one sensor port and need a motion control algorithm for balancing.
The following are a few examples as inspiration for building your own self-balancing robot.
Hitachi's EMIEW robot:
Toyota's MOBIRO robot:
The Segway (of course):
These all balance in one axis. If you are looking for more of a challenge, you can refer to Carnegie Mellon's Ballbot, which balances in two axes:
In Part II, I will post a tutorial to show you how easy it is to make your own self-balancing robot.
If you want a head start, here are some MINDSTORMS' examples of self-balancing robots:
Steve Hassenplug's Legway


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Debian 7 -- Errata
Security issues
Debian security team issues updates to packages in the stable release
in which they've identified problems related to security. Please consult the
security pages for information about
any security issues identified in Wheezy
If you use APT, add the following line to /etc/apt/sources.list to be able to access the latest security updates:
deb http://security.debian.org/ wheezy/updates main contrib non-free
After that, run apt-get update followed by apt-get upgrade.
Point releases
Sometimes, in the case of several critical problems or security updates, the released distribution is updated. Generally, these are indicated as point releases.
- The first point release, 7.1, was released on June 15, 2013.
- The second point release, 7.2, was released on October 12, 2013.
- The third point release, 7.3, was released on December 14, 2013.
- The fourth point release, 7.4, was released on February 8, 2014.
- The fifth point release, 7.5, was released on April 26, 2014.
- The sixth point release, 7.6, was released on July 12, 2014.
- The seventh point release, 7.7, was released on October 18, 2014.
- The eight point release, 7.8, was released on January 10, 2015.
- The ninth point release, 7.9, was released on September 5, 2015.
- The tenth point release 7.10 was released on April 2, 2016.
- The eleventh point release 7.11 was released on June 4, 2016.
See the ChangeLog for details on changes between 7.0 and 7.11.
Fixes to the released stable distribution often go through an extended testing period before they are accepted into the archive. However, these fixes are available in the dists/wheezy-proposed-updates directory of any Debian archive mirror.
If you use APT to update your packages, you can install the proposed updates by adding the following line to /etc/apt/sources.list:
# proposed additions for a 7 point release deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian wheezy-proposed-updates main contrib non-free
After that, run apt-get update followed by apt-get upgrade.


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Performance Issue with Windows 10
Under Windows 7 the first user logon usually takes less then 35 seconds for each user and the initial user profile weighs approx. 5MB.
With Windows 10 this has increased dramatically. The first user logon now usually takes up to 2 minutes or more for each user and the resulting user profile weighs approx. 130MB!
Most of this increase can be attributed to:
- the Windows 10 "Modern Apps" (also called Modern UI) which have to be created for each user at first logon
- the initial setup of Microsoft "OneDrive"
- many other one time background processes which continue to run for a long time until all necessary Modern UI resources have been created after the first user logon process has already completed
- Live tile creation and initial setup for the new Windows 10 Start menu
- initial setup of the Windows Store database
Unfortunately this overhead consumes a lot of additional CPU and RAM resources for Windows 10 user logons, especially in multiuser environments like Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server.
With some Google research you can easily find many instructions about how to remove Modern Apps with PowerShell commands and limit the Windows 10 start menu to one single tile,
creating a slim default user profile, etc.
Microsoft knows about this bottle-neck and has released a "slim" Windows 10 version called "Windows 10 LTSB (Long-Term Service Branch)" where almost all of the above mentioned overhead has been removed (also bringing back the old Windows 7-style calculator).
Some reports about Windows 10 LTSB can be found here:
But Windows 10 LTSB is only available for Microsoft Enterprise customers.
Fortunately even the cheapest Microsoft Server OS "Windows Server 2016 Essentials" also offers the same reduced overhead and remarkable performance improvements as Windows 10 LTSB, but without its restrictions.


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Riviera Theater
601 Crescent Avenue,
Catalina Island,
1 person favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: United Theaters of California, Western Amusement Company Inc.
Functions: Nightclub, Restaurant
Styles: Spanish Colonial
Nearby Theaters
Located in Avalon on Catalina Island, off the coast of California. The Riviera Theater was opened by 1926 when it was operated by the United Theaters of California chain. After its closure in 1961 it was converted into a bowling alley.
In recent years it has become a restaurant/nightclub known as the Riviera Room.
Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
The map link doesn't work for the address above, which was given in the Film Daily Yearbook, 1950 and 1952.
The building does exist though at the corner of Crescent Avenue and Clarissa Ave. It is one of the first buildings you see when entering the town on foot from the ferry landing.
I have found that there is a reference to a Strand Theater in Avalon, being re-opened after improvements, in the L.A. Times issue of January 15th, 1922. No address is given.
There is also an article in Southwest Builder and Contractor of December 12th, 1924, saying that architects (Walter I.) Webber, (William F.) Staunton and (Sumner Maurice) Spaulding had prepared plans for a 600 seat theater to be erected in Avalon. Neither name nor location is given. However, a librarians note on this card says that this is believed to be the building which, after the opening of the Casino and its theater, was converted into the Post Office.
The Casino, opened in 1930, was itself designed by Webber and Spaulding. I don't know if they were responsible for the interior of the movie theatre which was (and is, though I believe it is currently closed) on the ground floor of that massive landmark, but they probably were. Their firm did quite a bit of work at Catalina in those days.
My mother, though she lived in Avalon for a couple of years in the 1930s, has no memory of the Riviera Theater, or any theater on the island, other than the Casino. (It seems as though a second theater would be hard not to notice in such a small town, but maybe it was closed for a while in those years.)
In any case, I'm wondering if the Riviera might be the Strand, renamed. It might be possible to find an old postcard view of Avalon showing the theatre. There are usually quite a few Catalina cards on display in the postcard auction section of e-Bay. Avalon was, for decades, one of the most photographed places in California, and hundreds of different postcard views of it were published, and they sold in vast numbers.
This 'could' have been known initially as the Strand Theater but there is no reference to a theater of that name in the book I have on the history of the Casino Building.
The Riviera Theater is mentioned several times;
'that it was only open during the summer season, once the Avalon Theater opened in 1929. Tom White, a Hollywood promotor who held the lease on Avalon's Riviera Theater, leased the new Avalon Theater in 1929 and also signed on as general manager of the Casino operation. His lifestyle proved to flamboyant, and his association with the Casino ended in December 1929. Art LaShelle, who had managed the Riviera and Avalon Theater's for Tom White, stayed on to manage both theatres and facilities until 1939.
Over the years Avalon had enjoyed the offerings of a number of summer resident theatrical groups on the stage of the Riviera or the Bandbox Theater in El Encanto.
Western Amusement Company, which operated a number of theaters on the mainland, obtained a lease on both the Avalon and Riviera Theater's in 1949. The company closed the Avalon Theater during the winter but kept the Riviera Theater open all year until it was converted into a bowling alley in 1961.
The Avalon Theater is still open and operating and is on Cinema Treasures /theaters/22/
Ah, the location link for this theater says "Avalon, Catalina Island" and that for the Avalon simply says "Catalina Island," so they don't both share an "Avalon, California" listing page.
I didn't know that there was a theater in El Encanto, either. Was it only used for stage productions?
I have a cousin who spent several years of her childhood in Avalon. Next time I'm in touch with her, I'll ask her about the Riviera. I doubt that she'd know whether or not it was originally the Strand, though, as she wasn't born until 1933 or 1934. She might have been too young to have known anything about the theater which presumably became the Post Office, either, but I'll ask her about that, too. She'd probably at least remember where the Post Office was in those days.
The projectors from the Riviera Theatre were stored under the orchestria pit of the Avalon Theatre in the Casino Building. They were Simplex E-7s. One of the projectors was ruined by a saltwater flood. I own the surviving projector and it is in use at my theatre in Bakersfield California. To see the projector click here www.granada-theatre.com that projector is the second one shown (with the smaller lamphouse). I obtained the projector in 1980….Jim Spohn (661)326-1308
A brief item from the July 9, 1938, issue of Boxoffice Magazine mentions three theaters operating in Avalon at the time: "Visitors… Art LaShell, manager of the Avalon, Riviera, and Samoa in Catalina, accompanied by Ernie Gans, who will produce a stage show at the Samoa shortly."
There was nothing about whether the Samoa also ran movies, but as it was managed by the same guy who managed the Avalon and Riviera, it seems likely that it did. Avalon wasn't a very large town, but it had a huge tourist population and probably could have supported three movie houses during the season. I wonder if the Samoa could have been the 1924-25 project by Webber, Staunton & Spaulding which was later converted into the post office?
Avalon's post office is currently located on Metropole Avenue, in a newer building, but there's a building at 409 Crescent Avenue that looks as though it could have been a theater, having what seems to be a former stage tower. The building currently has a courtyard, but the L.A. County Assessor's office gives it an original construction date of 1926, and an effective construction date of 1941, so the courtyard might date from the rebuilding at that latter date.
Google Maps has no street views of Avalon, but a bird's-eye view of the building can be seen at Live Search. Search on 409 Crescent Av., Avalon Ca.
Oh, you can also use the Live Search link in my comment immediately above to fetch a bird's-eye view of the Riviera itself, or just drag the view back and forth between the two buildings (or all over town.)
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.


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Former President Clinton has been working overtime to drag Barack Obama across the finish line in this year's election. Clinton has been hands-down President Obama's most effective advocate. His personal credibility may not be substantial, but unlike Obama, Clinton produced a non-disastrous presidency. Thus, his overall credibility vastly exceeds that of the current president.
So how is Obama awarding Clinton for his heavy lifting? By throwing Clinton's wife under the Benghazi bus, it appears. On Friday, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that responsibility for the consulate in Libya fell on the State Department, not the White House. This followed Joe Biden's claim during the Thursday debate that "we" (apparently meaning Biden and Obama) knew nothing about the Libya mission's request to the State Department for extra security.
To save his political career, Obama would throw his own grandmother under the bus she supposedly rode to her job at the bank everyday because his grandfather thought it would be racist to give her a ride. And Biden's 2016 presidential ambitions (no, I'm not joking) provide him with an extra incentive to see Hillary Clinton become the fall-gal for Benghazi.
How is Bill Clinton taking this? According to author Ed Klein, he is not taking it lying down. Klein says that sources close to the Clinton are telling him that Bill Clinton has assembled an informal legal team to discuss how the Secretary of State should deal with the issue of being blamed for not preventing the Benghazi terrorist attack last month.
I'm sure Bill Clinton is furious. But what he hopes to accomplish through a legal team (assuming the accuracy of Klein's report) isn't clear. I don't believe there's a defamation suit in anyone's future over this.
Klein says that the Clintons are contemplating the option of Hillary resigning in the event Obama continues to make her the scapegoat. But this would be a very risky play. If she resigned before the election, Democrats would never forgive her for undermining Obama's reelection chances in a fit of pique. If she resigned after the election, assuming an Obama victory, the president probably would happily accept it, and she would be out in the cold. That might not be a terrible place to be considering what a second Obama term likely would hold in store. However, Hillary would be leaving under a cloud.
Hillary's leverage is at its peak now, when Bill is leading the Obama reelection charge and when a sudden resignation would represent a huge setback for Obama. The Clintons can try to use this leverage to halt White House efforts to scapegoat Hillary. Then, they can hope the issue blows over.
However, the Benghazi story isn't likely to blow over. And after November 6, the Clintons can do nothing to avoid the scapegoating of Hillary by the Obama administration.


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Coco Blues Cropped Flare
Regular price $82.00 Sale price $41.00 Save $41.00The Coco Blues Cropped Flare jeans show off your style with a unique acid wash detail and baby blue color. Featuring a fun kick flare detail and stretchy fabric, these jeans provide comfort and style while the high waisted rise and cropped fit give an attractive silhouette. Show off your individual style and be confident in your look with the Coco Blues Cropped Flare.
---10" Rise / 27" inseam / 26" Leg Opening
---98% Cotton, 2% Spandex
Denim Approximate Sizing Chart:
29: 8/9
30: 10/11
31: 12/13
32: 14
At Wildflower Boutique, we pride ourselves on giving the best customer service and ensuring our customers are 100% happy. If you are not, please give us the opportunity to make it right!
Here, you will find our return policy. We ask that you take a close look at your purchase within 24 hours of receiving it and contact us at email@example.com if there is a concerns or you would like to initiate a return.
Here are a few things to know about our return/ exchange policy:
-Sale or discounted items are final sale and cannot be returned, exchanged, or receive store credit.
-Items may be returned for store credit only. No full refunds.
-In order to be eligible for store credit, unwanted merchandise must be post marked within 10 days of the date you received it.
-Returns must be unworn, unwashed, and smell free with all tags attached.
-Shoes must be returned in their original box and placed inside an additional protective shipping box. Damage to the shoe box will result in the shoes being ineligible for return.
-The original shipping charge is non-refundable.
-We are happy to issue a return shipping label, for any unwanted, full price items. Simply send us as email at firstname.lastname@example.com
-Returns past the 10 day return policy will not be accepted or issued store credit. If item is sent back past return policy, the customer is responsible for return postage.
-Must include receipt or order number with return.
Please keep your tracking information. Once your return is received and processed, we will e-mail you your e-Gift Card that can be used online or in-store
Items that are Final Sale/Not eligible for a return include:
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To return your product, mail to:
Wildflower Boutique Yellow Springs
232 Xenia Ave.
Yellow Springs, OH 45387
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Someone on Wall Street wants to help you. No, really. The Andaz Wall Street has announced that it wants to help its guests with their taxes – free of charge.
From April 8 through the 15, Andaz guests, many of whom are time-pressed business travelers, will be able to take advantage of the services of Mr. Marc Albaum, who will live at the New York City hotel as its Accountant in Residence. The certified public accountant with more than 20 years of experience will set up shop for one week in the Buttonwood Suite, the Andaz Wall Street's premier guest room, which features separate areas for working and living quarters, two 42″ LCD televisions and nine-foot windows with views of the East River. Andaz Wall Street guests can reserve a free, one-hour consultation with Albaum by sending an email to firstname.lastname@example.com at least 72 hours prior to the desired appointment time.
While Albaum can't prepare guests' tax forms in full – appointments are only an hour, after all – his goal is "to ensure that his clients do not overlook credits and deductions, and receive the maximum refund they are entitled to." Ideally, Andaz guests who meet with Albaum will aspire to book the Buttonwood Suite on future visits to Wall Street hotel. Let's hope their refunds are equal to or greater than $3,045, the average current rate for a stay in the Buttonwood Suite.
Photo Flickr/Dave Dugdale


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- Home
- Government
- Divisions
- Emergency Management
- Disasters & Hazards
- Disaster Planning
- Pledge To Build An Emergency Kit
Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
You can Pledge to Prepare by putting together an Emergency Kit. This is a collection of items that will help you to survive following a disaster if help cannot reach you immediately. When preparing for a possible emergency situation, it's best to think first about the basics of survival including fresh water, food, clean air and warmth.
These items can all fit into a small Ziploc type bag and be kept in your backpack, desk drawer, or glove box.
You can put together your own kit with items that you probably have in your home already. Access a shopping list (PDF) that breaks down emergency kit purchases over 24 weeks. You pick up a few items at the grocery store one week, from the hardware store the next, etc. until you have yourself a fully functional family kit. If you don't have the time to make your own kit, many online retailers offer pre-made kits. Just type "72 hour kit" or "disaster kit" into your favorite web browser to find some online retailers.


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A cholera outbreak that already has left 250 people dead and more than 3,000 sickened is at the doorstep of an enormous potential breeding ground: the squalid camps in Port-au-Prince where 1.3 million earthquake survivors live. Health authorities and aid workers are scrambling to keep the tragedies from merging and the deaths from multiplying.
Five cholera patients have been reported in Haiti's capital, heightening worries that the disease could reach the sprawling tent slums where abysmal hygiene, poor sanitation, and widespread poverty could rapidly spread it.
But government officials said Sunday that all five apparently got cholera outside Port-au-Prince, and they voiced hope that the deadly bacterial disease could be confined to the rural areas where the outbreak originated last week.
"It's not difficult to prevent the spread to Port-au-Prince. We can prevent it," said Health Ministry director Gabriel Timothee. He said tightly limiting movement of patients and careful disposal of bodies can stave off a major medical disaster.
If efforts to keep cholera out of the camps fail, "The worst case would be that we have hundreds of thousands of people getting sick at the same time," said Claude Surena, president of the Haiti Medical Association.
Cholera can cause vomiting and diarrhea so severe it can kill from dehydration in hours.
Robyn Fieser, a spokeswoman for Catholic Relief Services, said she was confident that aid groups and the Haitian government will be prepared to respond to an outbreak should it occur in the camps. But she stressed that the challenge of preventing its spread is "immense."
"There are proven methods to contain and treat cholera, so we know what we're dealing with. The biggest challenge is logistics, that is, moving massive amounts of medicine, supplies and people into place to treat them and prevent the disease from spreading," Fieser said from the neighboring Dominican Republic.
Doctors Without Borders issued a statement saying that some Port-au-Prince residents were suffering from watery diarrhea and were being treated at facilities in the capital city. Cholera infection among the patients had not been confirmed, however, and aid workers stressed that diarrhea has not been uncommon in Port-au-Prince since the earthquake.
"Medical teams have treated many people with watery diarrhea over the last several months," Doctors Without Borders said.
Aid workers in the impoverished nation say the risk is magnified by the extreme poverty faced by people displaced by the Jan. 12 earthquake, which killed as many as 300,000 people and destroyed much of the capital city. Haitians living in the camps risk disease by failing to wash their hands, or scooping up standing water and then proceeding to wash fruits and vegetables.
"There are limited ways you can wash your hands and keep your hands washed with water in slums like we have here," said Michel Thieren, an official with the Pan-American Health Organization in Haiti. "The conditions for transmission are much higher."
Aid workers are coaching thousands of impoverished families how best to avoid cholera. Various aid groups are providing soap and water purification tablets and educating people in Port-au-Prince's camps about the importance of washing their hands.
Aid groups also began training more staff about cholera and where to direct people with symptoms. The disease had not been seen in Haiti for decades, and many people don't know about it.
Members of one grassroots Haitian organization traveled around Port-au-Prince's camps booming warnings about cholera from speakers in the bed of a pickup truck.
"Many people have become sick," announced Etant Dupain, in front of the Champs de Mars camp by Haiti's broken national palace. "If you have a family member that has diarrhea, bring them to the hospital immediately. Have them use separate latrines."
In a promising development, aid group Partners in Health said hospital management was improving in the city at the center of the initial outbreak, St. Marc, which is about a 60-mile (95-kilometer) drive northwest of Haiti.
Just 300 patients were hospitalized on Saturday, a number that has decreased by the end of each day.
A cholera treatment center in St. Marc is expected to be functional within the week, and efforts were ongoing to make clean water available in rural communities, especially those where rivers were the only source of water.
Some health experts were hopeful that they will be able to control the outbreak of cholera in impoverished Haiti.
"In a way, it couldn't have happened at a better moment than now because everyone is on the field – lots of (non-governmental organizations), lots of money. We haven't had any hurricanes so far this fall but people are here, and people are prepared," said Marc Paquette, Haiti director for the Canadian branch of Medecins du Monde.
Associated Press writer David McFadden in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.
Source: The Associated Press.


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Ray Lewis isn't exactly optimistic about his former team repeating as the Super Bowl champion.
The Baltimore Ravens underwent major changes this offseason with the loss of Lewis, Matt Birk, Anquan Boldin, Ed Reed, Paul Kruger, Dannell Ellerbe and Cary Williams, among others. Things won't be the same for the Ravens.
2013 NFL Draft: Team needs
Our analysts examine each team's game plan entering the NFL draft, identifying biggest needs, potential fits and more. **More ...**
"It's going to be very hard, after you lose that much chemistry," Lewis told USA Today's Robert Klemko about the Ravens' Super Bowl chances. "But who knows? It's unpredictable, as always. Hopefully, they try to pull enough together, use their youth and try to make a run. But it's hard to try that formula. That formula usually doesn't work."
The Ravens did restock with Elvis Dumervil, Chris Canty, Michael Huff, Marcus Spears and Rolando McClain. General manager Ozzie Newsome said he didn't want to make the same mistake he did after the franchise's first Super Bowl win last decade and hang onto aging players. So Newsome made moves with an eye on the future while freeing up money for Joe Flacco's contract extension and wide receiver Torrey Smith and tight end Dennis Pitta down the road.
Chemistry is hard to replace, but Newsome repeatedly has proven he's one of the NFL's top executives. No team has won consecutive titles since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004, so that's pretty rare company anyway.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.


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Temporarily closed until further notice
Grain Tasting Bar exemplifies the Vancouver experience. Dedicated to local growers, brewers, wineries and distilleries, our menu offers a wide variety of flavours and spirits representing British Columbia. Rustic yet contemporary, Grain Tasting Bar combines broad windows with chic ambiance, perfectly blending the region's natural elements with urban design our innovative window system features retractable panes, crafting Vancouver's best seasonal open-air lounge.


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Lachenmann, Gudrun, and Petra Dannecker. 2008. Negotiating Development in Muslim Societies: Gendered Spaces and Translocal Connections. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Topics: Armed Conflict, Development, Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Livelihoods, Post-Conflict, Religion, Rights, Human Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Asia, South Asia Countries: Malaysia, Senegal, Sudan
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Enzo Castagno
Castagno's recent works are gathered in silent dialogue. The terracotta is constrained within the severe chromatic range of white, lightening the heavy, sumptuous material to the point of buoyancy. No other material exists which, yielding docile to the hand, can free itself of its own physical weight of fine-grained earth's crust and take on the fragile, floating grace of coral.
The gravity of the canopic vase, sealing the shadow of the Etruscan within, is a reminder of how weight can be a useful counterpoint to lightness, preserving in the wheat-coloured urn the volatile ashes of the ancestor.
This metaphysical tension induces the sculptor to accept a heavy, if palpitating beginning, only to take flight towards lightsome harmony in space. In this fertile contrast lies the drive of Castagno's poetic invention.
The white tones that have settled on the form, uniting intimately with it, are capable of refracting light at greater speed, within the visible spectrum.
In this way the rough, earthen materiality is polished with light, refracted in an inconstant albedo that varies from cold white when veined with blue to warmed off-white when ranging close to the aged or gilded ivory of tufa.
I had not realised that titanium and tin, zinc and kaolin, used in painting for centuries to create effects of subdued luminosity or dramatic rents of light, are actually heavy metals and minerals, oxides obtained by baking at a thousand degrees or more. The sculptures which were incandescent in the heart of the kiln emanate, now that they have cooled, the chill energy of immaculate geometry.


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The concept of natural selection remains controversial in both the evolutionary and creationist communities. Classical evolutionists still cannot clearly define it as they continue to debate one another over a valid model and definition. Meanwhile, secular molecular biologists are content to leave the debate primarily in the hands of the classical biologists when the hard data needed to validate natural selection in one form or another ultimately lies at the molecular level. This is typical of the compartmentalized nature of modern academics where scientists focus on a single area of specialty research and assume that some other sector of biology will solve the serious problems of Darwinian evolution.
The lack of a clearly defined molecular mechanism to create new irreducibly complex traits as a creative force in evolution is why many scientists have had difficulty characterizing Darwin's concept for over 70 years. Dr. Randy Guliuzza recently pointed out the various key philosophical and semantic anomalies of the confusing quagmire surrounding the usage of natural selection terminology.1 Dr. Guliuzza not only exposed the various obfuscated semantics involved, but he also fully substantiated his deductions by quoting the evolutionists in their own words.2
The next and perhaps most important step following Dr. Guliuzza's effort is for the ICR biological sciences team to begin illustrating the many interesting cellular mechanisms that allow organisms to adapt to new environments or changes in their existing environments. To some extent, this has already been going on through ICR biologist Brian Thomas' daily news articles and other ICR bio-scientists' publications in various journals and in Acts & Facts.
Most expressed traits and adaptations are biologically complex responses. These adaptations can be defined as biological interactions at the environmental interface that are regulated by genetic programming and cell physiology. A creationist model of adaptation is based on an organism's innate physiological capabilities and fault tolerance mechanisms that are genetically programmed by the Creator. Scientifically valid descriptions of adaptation employ recent molecular discoveries in genomics, cell physiology, and phenotypic plasticity to explain how living creatures successfully interface with environmental challenges and fill ecological niches.
Environmental stresses and stimuli cannot exercise the creative causation of highly complex pre-coded genetic information that underlies irreducibly complex systems of adaptation. Organismal interaction with the environment involves highly complex and dynamic physiological and genetic responses to a wide range of physical and chemical sensory cues. These environmental cues are perceived by complex systems of cell sensor networks that interact with an organism's highly engineered genetic system. While adaptation systems are complex and flexible, they are not evolvable on a grand neo-Darwinian scale. They are pre-engineered, pre-programmed, and irreducibly complex in the strictest sense of the term, and they unequivocally imply the infinite intelligence of our Creator God.
An upcoming research column will discuss the concept of genetic diversity in biological adaptation. For a review of genetic diversity at an introductory level, see the recent ICR publication by Parker and Tomkins.3
- See Guliuzza, R.J. 2012. Darwin's Sacred Imposter: Answering Questions about the Fallacy of Natural Selection. Acts & Facts. 41 (2): 12-15.
- Guliuzza, R. 2011. Darwin's Sacred Imposter: Recognizing Missed Warning Signs. Acts & Facts. 40 (5): 12-15; Guliuzza, R. 2011. Darwin's Sacred Imposter: How Natural Selection Is Given Credit for Design in Nature. Acts & Facts. 40 (7): 12-15; Guliuzza, R. 2011. Darwin's Sacred Imposter: The Illusion That Natural Selection Operates on Organisms. Acts & Facts. 40 (9): 12-15; Guliuzza, R. 2011. Darwin's Sacred Imposter: Natural Selection's Idolatrous Trap. Acts & Facts. 40 (11): 12-15.
- Parker, G. and J. Tomkins. 2010. Genetic Diversity. Dallas, TX: Institute for Creation Research.
* Dr. Tomkins is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research and received his Ph.D. in Genetics from Clemson University.
Cite this article: Tomkins, J. 2012. Mechanisms of Adaptation in Biology: Molecular Cell Biology. Acts & Facts. 41 (4): 6.


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RIM has just released its fiscal Q3 2013 earnings report, and once against its quarterly results managed to squeak by analysts' grim forecasts. RIM reported a net GAAP loss of $114 million (equivalent to $0.22 per share) on revenues of $2.7 billion this time around, while the general consensus leading up to the release was that the company would lose $0.35 per share on $2.66 billion in revenues.
BlackBerry smartphone shipments were down this quarter, though that's really nothing out of the ordinary — with all of the company's efforts focused on getting BlackBerry 10 in ship-shape before pushing it out the door, there was little effort to release any new BlackBerry 7 hardware. RIM shipped 6.9 million BlackBerrys this quarter, down half a million units from its levels last quarter. Meanwhile, PlayBook shipments nearly doubled in Q3, thanks in large part to the company's release of a 4G-enabled variant in certain markets.
Putting hardware aside for a moment, analysts have been talking about two key metrics in the days leading up to the release: subscribers and cash position. RIM managed to increase its cash position by over half a million dollars since last quarter, but didn't fare nearly as well on the subscriber front. Just prior to its last earnings release, CEO Thorsten Heins noted that the company grew its number of users from 78 million to 80 million — this time, the company reported only 79 million subscribers. Perhaps it's to be expected, but I'm sure no one at RIM was proud of that particular revelation.
At this point, we're all waiting for RIM to deliver its would-be savior: BlackBerry 10. It won't be long before RIM's first BlackBerry 10 devices officially see the light of day, and at this point the leaks are coming hard and fast. After posting a lukewarm teaser to its BlackBerry 10 landing page, RIM was probably surprised to see its first all-touch BB10 smartphone photographed in extraordinary detail by Vietnamese gadget forum Tinhte.vn. Meanwhile, a recently posted image from the venerable EvLeaks seems to have given the oft-photographed device a name — it's expected to be called the BlackBerry Z10 when it makes its official debut.
Now, let's be clear here — the only really good thing about this quarter is that it wasn't quite as bad as some had expected. For RIM, that just can't be enough anymore. It certainly has a long road to plow, and the company has made it clear that it doesn't expect to pull Apple or Google from the top of the mobile OS charts, but BlackBerry 10 is an intriguing little operating system and I suspect it'll surprise at least a few of the company's detractors.


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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Former Providence College lacrosse goalkeeper Ron Westgate '06 has joined the men's lacrosse staff as an assistant coach. Friar Head Coach Chris Burdick announced Westgate's return to the program on Monday, November 7. Burdick also announced that JM Simpson has been elevated to head assistant coach, while long-time volunteer assistant Jim Mascia remains with the program to round out the staff for the 2012 campaign.
Westgate was the consummate student-athlete while at Providence College, and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in business management in 2006. A three-year team captain for the Friars, Westgate was awarded the program's prestigious Spignazi/Berk Legacy Award for his work on and off the field that exemplifies the legacy of the program. Westgate helped lead the Friars to four MAAC Tournament appearances, including two MAAC titles, from 2003-2006. He also played a significant role in guiding the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004, and another NCAA run in 2006.
Prior to Providence, the Forestdale, Mass. native attended Sandwich High School. At Sandwich, Westgate played for Brent Pearsall, and was a three-year letter winner in lacrosse. He was a Team MVP selection and member of the Eastern Massachusetts All-Star Team. He led his team to the semifinals of the State Championship in 2002.
Westgate began his coaching career in 2002 as an assistant for the Top Gun Fighting Clams in Acton, Mass. Top Gun is ranked year-in and year-out one of the top-five club lacrosse programs in the country. Eventually, Westgate was elevated to head coach. From 2008 to 2011, Westgate served as assistant lacrosse coach at Wellesley High School in Wellesley, Mass. Westgate oversaw the defense and goaltenders and helped lead the team to a 68-24 record in four seasons of play, including an undefeated regular season in 2011.
Westgate also has sales and business experience, having worked for Shamrock Sales, Commonwealth Lacrosse and Atlantic Sportswear.
Simpson will enter his second year on the sidelines as an assistant coach in 2012 and his first as the top assistant. Simpson came to Providence after two seasons as an assistant coach at St. Mary's College of Maryland. While at St. Mary's, Simpson worked with Head Coach Chris Hasbrouck. He was involved in all aspects of recruiting and day-to-day operations of the men's lacrosse program. He was instrumental in coordinating the defensive playbook and goaltender instruction. Simpson also managed the substitution box during games.
Prior to his tenure at St. Mary's, Simpson spent three seasons at Marist College. He began his time with the Red Foxes as an assistant coach under the direction of Head Coach Andy Copelan in the fall of 2005. Simpson was elevated to head coach in December of 2005 upon Copelan's departure for Maryland. Simpson directed Marist during the 2006, 2007 and 2008 campaigns as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). During his time at Marist, Simpson was responsible for the daily operations of the program. He served as the offensive coordinator in 2006 and made the transition to defensive coordinator for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Simpson was instrumental in the recruitment of MAAC Rookie of the Year Matt Teichmann and MAAC scoring leader Corey Zindel. He also played a significant role in fund-raising efforts.
Mascia is entering his 11th season with the program as a volunteer assistant coach. Mascia is the all-time leader at Providence with 256 career groundballs. He registered an all-time season high of 138 groundballs during his final campaign with the "black and white" in 1998.
Mascia was a four-year starter and defensive midfielder during his playing days as a Friar. In his junior and senior seasons, he served as the team's face-off specialist. As senior captain and two-time All-MAAC Academic Team selection, Mascia finished first in face-offs won per game, groundballs per game and total groundballs recorded in NCAA Division I. He also finished among the top-10 in all other significant face-off statistics.
One of Mascia's primary responsibilities as an assistant is to work with the Friars' face-off specialists. He also assists with the offensive units.
The Friars will open their 2012 season against Lafayette on Saturday, February 18 in Easton, Pa.
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President Obama is getting razzed for seeming oblivious to the hard-left associations of his new campaign slogan, "Forward," which was once used by the Marxists, the socialists, and even the communists. Glenn Beck's Web site, The Blaze, posts an anthology of communist posters featuring the word and asks "IS OBAMA'S NEW 'FORWARD' SLOGAN REALLY A COINCIDENCE?" Lou Dobbs is noting that the word has "a very long history with Marxists and socialists and communists."
All that's true—and fair enough. But the jibe doesn't quite fit the newspaper that made the name "Forward" one of the most famous in all of journalism. That was the Jewish Daily Forward, issued in New York under the editorship of Abraham Cahan. It may be the most anticommunist newspaper in American history. It would not be wrong to say that it was the Forward that found the formula for winning the Cold War.
Like the Vorwarts in Germany from which the Forward took its name when it was founded in 1897, the paper sprang from the left. In the Jewish ghetto on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Yiddish-language Forward fixed into its headquarters busts of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, among other leftist icons. But as the communist tyranny gripped the Soviet Union, the Forward turned against the Reds with a fury and effectiveness that was never equaled.
One, albeit only one, of the Forward's targets was a front called Friends of Soviet Russia, which was funneling money to the communist regime under the guise of "relief." Starting in 1922, the Forward began exposing the scheme. In 1923, the editor of the Forward visited the Soviet Union and returned to declare: "Russia has at present less freedom than it had in the earliest days of Romanov rule ... The world has never seen such a despotism."
The Forward went on to become one of the first newspapers in America to report on the Siberian death camps, which other organs of the left steadfastly ignored. Forward reporters went to Russia to file eyewitness accounts of the mass starvation that accompanied Stalin's collectivization of agriculture. Cahan railed against communism so assiduously that some on the left began saying the Forward was just as bad as Hearst's publications. Cahan took it as a compliment.
In 1923, at the national convention of the Socialist Party, Cahan delivered a keynote speech that is remembered for, among other things, the way the communist organ, the Worker, described the scene. It called Cahan a "notorious Bolshevik baiter" and his remarks a "compilation of the most loathsome backstairs gossip against Soviet Russia, emanating from the journalistic house of prostitution of the entire capitalist world …"
In retrospect it would become clear that the Forward had crossed a Rubicon and begun a long war against the communists that would last to the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond. It helped found the American Labor Party so its readers could abandon the socialists and vote for FDR without voting for Tammany Hall. When the ALP was taken over by the communists, it broke away and helped form the Liberal Party.
In the late 1920s, the leader of the American communists, Jay Lovestone, quit the party and vowed to bring down the Soviet Union. It was the Forward that gave him a home, at a labor union with which it was allied, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. From that redoubt Lovestone worked his plots. He sent to Europe a young organizer, Irving Brown, and they set up the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions—anticommunist trade unions responsive not to a party or a government but to a vote of their members.
It was the ICFTU that did battle against the World Federation of Trade Unions, which was based at Prague and sided with the communists. It was anticommunist labor that got Marshall Plan aid past communist dockworkers in Europe. Decades later, it was with the ICFTU that affiliated a little-known trade union at Gdansk, Poland, called Solidarity, which rose up and—by exposing as a the lie the idea that communism stood for the working man—cracked Soviet rule in the East Bloc.
Abraham Cahan himself died in 1951. But the Forward carried on. It sided against Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs. It supported the war against the communists in Korea and Vietnam. When the bitter end came in Saigon, it warned—prophetically—that the communist bloodlust would not be slaked and the killing had only begun. The communist reeducation camps, the flight of the boat people, and the Cambodian killing fields followed.
When President John F. Kennedy went to Berlin to give what became one of his most famous speeches, it was Jay Lovestone who, according to biographer Ted Morgan, leaned over to the president and told him that when he stood up in the Rathausplatz, he should declare "Ich bin ein Berliner." And when Irving Brown lay dying at Paris, it was President Reagan who awarded him the Medal of Freedom.
Reagan knew all about the anticommunist trade unions. He had been president of one of them, the Screen Actors Guild. So I, too, wonder whether President Obama fully appreciates the history behind the slogan "Forward." But it's not the Marxist message to which he seems oblivious. It's the anticommunist message. The tribunes of the anticommunist labor movement, for which the Forward flew the flag, were there with advice, if not always support, for JFK, Nixon, and Reagan. To whom can President Obama turn?


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Government receives child poverty report
Media Statement
Government receives child poverty report
The Government has received the Children's Commissioner's Expert Advisory Group's report "Solutions to Child Poverty", and will consider its 78 recommendations, Finance Minister Bill English and Social Development Minister Paula Bennett say.
"The Government acknowledges that many families are finding times challenging, and I thank the group for its report, which feeds into a great deal of work that is already underway," Mr English says.
"This Government is tackling some difficult and complex issues including welfare reform and the White Paper on Vulnerable Children, while spending billions of dollars to support those in most need."
Mrs Bennett says the Government welcomes ideas and some of the report's recommendations may get taken up while some others have already been addressed.
"For example, there is merit in the suggestion of community hubs and a warrant of fitness for homes. Meanwhile, we're already ensuring beneficiary teen parents are in education."
However, the Government would not support universal child payments.
"It is those on the lowest-incomes who are in the greatest need so any new spending needs to be tightly targeted," she says.
Mr English said net core Crown debt had risen from $10 billion four years ago to more than $50 billion today and, in difficult financial times, the public expected policies to be costed and evidence-based.
"New programmes are worth funding only if they change people's lives for the better.
"Too often, governments have, for political reasons, persisted with programmes that have been ineffective and expensive.
"But if the answer was simply to throw more money at the problem, it would have been solved years ago," he says.
The Government's consistent approach has been to encourage people off welfare into work, while protecting vulnerable children, maintaining support for low-income households and strengthening the economy.
The Government has ensured more families have warmer, drier homes, better access to health services, better protection from abuse, and greater support to help people off welfare into work.
All state houses will be insulated by the end of 2013 and the $347 million Heat Smart scheme has already insulated 190,000 homes since 2009.
The $24 million Rheumatic Fever programme has targeted 44,000 children in the worst affected areas and funding for free doctor's visits for under six year olds has gone up by 50 percent over three years.
The White Paper for Vulnerable Children contains more than 30 measures. Welfare reforms include extra childcare to help young parents remain in education, along with social obligations to ensure children get the education and health care they need.
"We know children are better off in homes where at least one adult is working and long term, children who get the education and skills which lead to good jobs stand the best chance of breaking inter-generational hardship," Mrs Bennett says.